President Obama comments on Redskins name change
President Obama says that he would consider changing the Redskins name if he owned the team.
President Barack Obama has spoken up about the growing controversy surrounding the Washington Redskins team name. In an interview with the Associated Press, Obama says that he would "think about changing" the name if he owned the team. "I don't know whether our attachment to a particular name should override the real legitimate concerns that people have about these things," he said in the interview.
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Hogs Haven weighs in. Owner Dan Snyder has vowed to never change the name, but it has drawn a growing amount of criticism in recent months. Members of Congress have called for a change, and a handful of media outlets no longer use the name. Commissioner Roger Goodell has also shifted his position, saying that the league should listen to people offended by the name. Opponents of the name plan to hold a rally outside the NFL’s Monday meeting in Washington.
There are still a handful of teams with Native American nicknames, but that number is shrinking. St. John's changed their nickname from the Redman to the Red Storm, Marquette went from the Warriors to Golden Eagles, and Stanford moved from the Indians to the Cardinal. The Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves are the other professional teams to have Native American nicknames.
